Friday Offcuts – 16 May 2025
Click to Subscribe - It's FREE! Welcome to this week's edition of Friday Offcuts.We kick things off with exciting news - a massive NZ$3 billion investment in Otago is set to create the nation’s largest inland port. This development promises to future-proof South Island freight logistics and will be strategically located to support the forestry sector in Otago and Southland. In Australia, FWPA examines what imposing reciprocal tariffs on US wood products would mean for the country. While concerns growing in Western Australia, as native forests are cleared for mine expansion - a move that comes after significant portions of the native forest industry were shut down to protect these very forests. On the innovation front, several exciting developments are underway. In New Zealand, a partnership between Techlam and Woodspan will bolster the supply of engineered timber. Additionally, a new geospatial platform, ForestInsights, has launched to provide precise forest boundary maps and stand age information. We also highlight a groundbreaking technology that transforms wood into ‘Superwood’, which is now entering production, and new research reveals the concerning extent of toxic wildfire pollution infiltrating homes worldwide. Read these stories and more in another packed edition of Friday Offcuts.
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This week we have for you:
NZ$3b investment to create NZ’s largest inland port in Otago
A $3 billion privately funded development in Otago is set to
create New Zealand’s largest inland port, in a move expected to
future-proof South Island freight logistics and significantly
boost export capacity for the region’s primary industries.The Milburn Quadrant development, located north of Milton, will span more than 200 hectares, including a 55-hectare inland port directly connected to State Highway 1 and the South Island’s main trunk rail line. Already zoned for heavy industrial use, the site will require no public infrastructure investment. It comes as Dunedin’s Port Otago, currently the country’s sixth-largest seaport by export volumes, is facing capacity constraints. The new development aims to provide an alternative to ease pressure on the port and support sectors such as forestry, dairy and aquaculture. Mark Johnston, land and delivery manager at Calder Stewart, the developer behind Milburn Quadrant, says the facility would act as a “pressure relief valve” to alleviate storage constraints at Port Chalmers. More >> Source: Transporttalk Is a reciprocal tariff an appropriate response?
This article is produced by FWPA’s Statistics and Economics program.
Over the past decade, from 2015 to 2024, Australia’s trade in logs and wood products—both imports and exports—has experienced notable shifts, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic years. Despite these fluctuations, our primary trading partners for both softwood and hardwood have remained consistent. Key countries such as China, New Zealand, and several Southeast Asian nations, including Malaysia and Indonesia, continue to play significant roles in Australia’s timber trade. In this context, attention is now toward the United States, especially in light of recent policy changes. Under the US laws in the section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the wood products industry has been designated as a critical manufacturing sector essential to the national security, economic strength, and industrial resilience. This industry plays a vital role in key downstream, including construction. Therefore, the new tariff is viewed as a protective measure in the domestic wood supply chain against imported products. In the new tariff measures introduced by the US government, Australia faces a 10% tariff on all exported goods to the US, including logs and wood products. This policy presents a significant challenge to Australian exporters and raises questions about reciprocal trade measures. Given the impact of this tariff, a key policy question arises: Should Australia respond by imposing an equivalent 10% tariff on logs and wood products imported from the United States? This decision will require careful consideration of trade balances, the broader implications for the timber and forestry industries, and Australia’s long-term economic relationship with the US. The tables below summarise export and import activities in the last ten years. Key points:
Source: FWPA  Toxic wildfire pollution infiltrates homes of 1bn people a year
Toxic pollution from wildfires has infiltrated the
homes of more than a billion people a year over the last two decades,
according to new research. The climate crisis is
driving up the risk of wildfires by increasing heatwaves and droughts,
making the issue of wildfire smoke a “pressing global
issue”, scientists said.The tiny particles produced by wildfires can travel thousands of miles and are known to be more toxic than urban air pollution, due to higher concentrations of chemicals that cause inflammation. Wildfire pollution has been linked to early deaths, worsened heart and breathing diseases and premature births. Previous studies have analysed outdoor exposure to wildfire smoke, but people spend most of their time indoors, particularly when seeking refuge from wildfires. The new analysis is the first global, high-resolution study of indoor spikes in wildfire pollution. The greatest exposure was in South America and central Africa, followed by the west coast of North America, north-west Australia, and north and south-east Asia. More >> Source: The Guardian AFPA welcomes Minister Collins’ continued forestry service
Australia’s forest industries welcome the Hon. Julie
Collins MP’s continued service as Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry in the new 48th Parliament.
Minister Collins has been an ardent advocate for forestry and
the supply chain, and we look forward to working with her again this
term, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products
Association (AFPA), Diana Hallam said today.This week, Prime Minister Albanese announced the re-elected Labor Government’s new Cabinet and broader Ministry, which includes some other key appointments for our sector, including Senator the Hon. Murray Watt’s move to the Environment portfolio and the Hon. Clare O’Neil MP’s re-appointment as Minister for Housing. AFPA also welcomes Senator the Hon. Anthony Chisholm’s return as Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Senator the Hon. Tim Ayres’ appointment as Minister for Industry and Innovation. “On behalf of Australia’s forest industries I welcome back and congratulate Julie Collins on her re-appointment as our Minister. Julie has an outstanding record of stewardship and delivery for our sector, and we look forward to continuing our positive and close working relationship. We also welcome Murray Watt to the Environment portfolio. As a former Minister for Forestry, Senator Watt has an excellent understanding of our industries and regulatory framework, so we look forward to working constructively with him also,” Diana Hallam said. “It’s a very important time for the forestry portfolio, as the sector works to realise our climate and manufacturing potential while facing numerous challenges including securing resource supply, dealing with a depressed construction market along with ensuring we have a skilled workforce geared to needs. “We will get back to work with Minister Collins and other key members of the Executive to discuss the soon-to-be-released Timber Fibre Strategy, how our sector can maximise benefits provided by the new ReMade in Australia brand and be part of the solution on housing sector initiatives announced during the election campaign, and also to broadly ensure forestry and forest products is understood and decisions are made with the best interests of our sector in mind,” Diana Hallam concluded. Source: AFPA Swiss expert for international timber bridge conference
Steffen Franke will be keynote speaker at the International
Conference on Timber Bridges in Rotorua in June. His
presentation will be on long-span timber highway bridges as a
contribution to global decarbonisation.Steffen grew up in Germany and now works in Switzerland. He knows New Zealand well because he worked at the University of Auckland from 2010 to 2012, where he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Timber Design with Prof Pierre Quenneville. Until last year, Steffen was Professor of Timber Engineering at the Bern University of Applied Sciences where he taught structural engineering and timber design. He has over 30 successful research projects and over 100 publications. He is now a Senior Researcher at ETH Zürich, Switzerland, in the team of Prof. Dr. Andrea Frangi, working on a wide range of new developments in timber engineering. Steffen will describe the possible contribution of timber highway bridges to an international decarbonisation strategy for the infrastructure sector, including the feasibility of long-span heavy-duty timber bridges in mountainous countries such as Switzerland and New Zealand. More >> Source: ICTB 2025  Techlam & Woodspan forge innovative partnership
Recent events at Woodspan’s New Plymouth facility have led
to a collaboration between two of New Zealand’s leading engineered
timber manufacturers. Following a fire that damaged critical
CNC machinery at their production site, Woodspan faced a significant
operational setback.Techlam has stepped forward to establish a strategic partnership that ensures continuity of supply for Woodspan customers while creating new opportunities for both organisations in the engineered timber sector. Responding to industry challenges The construction materials landscape has faced numerous hurdles in recent years. Supply chain disruptions, tough economic climate and now this unexpected production setback at Woodspan created a perfect storm that called for an innovative solution. “We recognised the potential impact this disruption could have across multiple construction projects,” explains Brett Hamilton, Managing Director of Techlam. “Our industry thrives on reliability and predictability. When materials don’t arrive on schedule, the ripple effects can be substantial.” The Levin-based operation has been manufacturing structural laminated timber products for over three decades. With experience spanning economic cycles and evolving building regulations, Techlam has developed robust production capablities that can now benefit the broader market through this new arrangement. “Our advanced 6-Axis CNC line has the capacity to accommodate Woodspan’s production requirements while maintaining our existing commitments,” Hamilton notes. “The technologies are compatable, and our team can quickly adapt to the specifications required for their PLT panels.” Complementary expertise and products The partnership brings together two distinct but complementary product offerings. Woodspan has established itself as an innovator in parallel laminated timber (PLT) panels made from New Zealand-grown radiata pine. These products have gained significant traction in the construction sector, particularly for floor and roof structures where their strength and installation efficiency provide interesting benefits. Techlam, meanwhile, has built its reputation on precision-engineered structural laminated timber solutions that serve both domestic and international markets. Their product range is recognised for performance characteristics, aesthetic appeal (including biophilia) and versatility across diverse applications. Tom Boon, Chief Executive of Taranakipine Group and co-founder of Woodspan, see’s strategic value beyond the immediate situation: “This partnership allows us to enhance our offerings and reach a broader audience. While the circumstances weren’t what we would have chosen, the resulting collaboration creates new possibilities for both organisations.” The alignment of manufacturing processes and material sourcing creates natural synergies that both companies are now exploring. Both companies utilise locally-sourced radiata pine and operate advanced CNC technology, facilitating a smoother transition than might otherwise have been possible. Market benefits and industry impact For customers and specifiers, this partnership offers several advantages:
More >> Source & image credit: Techlam  Frame & Truss Manufacturers Association NZ national conference
The FTMA conference will be held in the heart of New Zealand's
wood processing industry, Rotorua, from 16 to 18 July 2025. New
Zealand appears to be at a crossroads regarding residential
construction. We want more homes built faster and at lower cost. We also
need robust and comfortable homes that serve our modern lifestyles and
aspirations.As home occupants, owners or investors, we want to see better value in our homes in the form of lower build costs, lower operating costs and easier maintenance. How can we achieve most or all of these objectives? Recent experience has shown that more elaborate offsite building manufacture in is a difficult business in New Zealand, such as indicated by the recent announcement to close Clever Core. For better or worse, the great majority of residential construction still comes off the ground in the form of humble frames and trusses delivered to building sites. What can frame and truss manufacturers do to bring us a few steps closer to those high level objectives? How do we need to change to be relevant and competitive in the 2030’s which is not that far away? While much of the content is primarily relevant to the frame and truss sector, designers, licensed building practitioners and all those with an interest in wood based construction and the possible shape of residential construction in the future will be interested in what is on offer. There is a quality line up of presenters including David Hall of MBIE Building Systems Performance, Ankit Sharma CEO of the Registered Master Builders Association and Nick Sterling of Callaghan Innovation all helping us to understand where our sector and New Zealand construction in general is heading in the next 5 to 10 years. These issues and more will be explored. Register at www.ftma.co.nz and see the conference programme here. Timber frames and trusses – still the core of over 90% of low and medium density residential building (image courtesy of VIP Frames & Trusses). Full offsite building and panel manufacture has been difficult in New Zealand. Can we bring these two worlds closer together? Source & image credit: FTMA  New advanced forest mapping and age assessment tool launched
Indufor Asia Pacific and Scion announce the release of ForestInsights, a new geospatial platform designed to deliver precise forest boundary maps and stand age information.The platform aims to provide core geospatial layers that detail the location, size and age profile of New Zealand’s plantation forest estate - enabling better-informed decision-making for investors and policymakers. ForestInsights leverages advanced deep learning techniques applied to high-resolution aerial photography to enhance the delineation of forest boundaries. These boundaries are then segmented into age classes using a combination of satellite and LiDAR data analysis. The platform features three core data layers:
ForestInsights is currently available for selected regions in New Zealand, with planned expansion into Chile and Uruguay later this year. Click here to visit the website. Source & image credit: Indufor Asia Pacific  Double standards for forest conservation in Western Australia?
Federal environmental approval recently granted for expansion of
the South 32 Worsley bauxite mine has given the green light to clearing
of a further 3855 hectares of native forest around Boddington south-east
of Perth. Mine clearing will predominantly impact public forest
in a landscape where native vegetation is already heavily fragmented due
to past agricultural clearing and mining.These forests are known to provide important habitat for eight threatened fauna species including woylie, numbat, chuditch, western ringtail possum and quokka, along with three species of forest-dwelling cockatoos. Other conservation dependent fauna and threatened plants occur within the area to be affected by mining. Cumulative impacts from the Worsley mine expansion are in direct conflict with the vision and goals for management of public forest land articulated in the Forest Management Plan 2024-2033. This plan is intended to prioritise forest health and biodiversity of public forests and to manage forests to maintain or enhance carbon storage and improve climate resilience. In September 2021 the Western Australian Labour government announced the end of commercial timber harvesting in native forest and has since spent $80 million of public funds on transition measures to support affected workers and communities. More >> Source: Australian Rural & Regional News (written by Dr Lachlan McCaw AFSM, forest scientist) New Bioeconomy Science Institute to be formed
Dr Shane Reti, Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, announced
this week that New Zealand’s new public research
organisations will be formed from 1 July 2025. From this date,
Scion will operate as a division of the New Zealand Institute
for Bioeconomy Science (Bioeconomy Science Institute).
The new organisation will advance innovation in agriculture,
aquaculture, forestry, biotechnology and manufacturing,
protect ecosystems from biosecurity threats and climate risks and
develop new bio-based technologies and products.
Scion will join AgResearch, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and
Plant and Food in the Bioeconomy Science Institute. Dr Reti announced the appointment of the Board of Directors for the new Bioeconomy Science Institute:
The other two new public research organisations have also been named.
The New Zealand Institute for Earth Science (bringing together NIWA
and GNS) and the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic
Science (currently the Institute of Environmental Science and Research
– ESR) will also be formed on 1 July.
You can read the Minister’s announcement here. More >> Source & image credit: Scion NZ market update - May 2025Opinion Piece: Marcus Musson, Forest360 DirectorMay is the month you can generally set your watch to being the export price tipping point, and this year is no different. Prices have dropped from the highs of February and March by around $15/m3 to the early to mid-$110’s/m3. As with April, there is a range of around $14/m3 between the highest and lowest exporter offerings and the usual spread of around $20/m3 between northern and southern ports. This puts the 3-year average for Southern North Island ports at a shade over $120/m3 for A grade. The 3-year average price is very important when looking at trends and unfortunately this has been on a downward trajectory since early 2023, which is no surprise considering that was about when the wheels really started falling off the Chinese construction market.  Putting price to one side, the metrics don’t look too bad. Chinese port inventories are down around half a million cubic metres from April at 3.5Mm3 and uplift remains solid at 70,000m3 per day. As usual, NZ had a bumper first quarter in terms of volume production and with a 5-week delay from the stump to Chinese ports, it takes a while for this to play out in the market. There are already signs of less vessel arrivals as a result of the poorer April prices and wetter weather, and this will likely continue well into June. If we could get inventory levels below 3 million m3 we would be able to borrow a pair of Trump’s negotiating shoes and reposition ourselves on the supply/demand curve. No matter which way you look at it, China remains our most important trading partner for the forest industry by a country mile, taking around 60% of NZ’s harvest production in log form. Total softwood log imports into China fell from around 50 million cubic metres in 2021 to around 25 million in 2024 and the good news for NZ is that our market share has grown from 40% to 70% over the same period – so a larger piece of a smaller pie. It’s not only logs that are imported to China as lumber also arrives in significant volumes. If you convert the lumber volume into a log equivalent volume, the total softwood imports into China in 2021 was a shade over 75 million log cubic metres of which NZ supply was around 25%. Fast-forward to 2024 and the total softwood import number is around 50 million cubic metres with NZ sitting in first place in terms of supply at 36% and Russia a fast follower at 32%. If you’re a pure numbers person you’d be getting excited about recent increases in Chinese exports which rose 12.4% in March and 8.1% in April. Part of those exports will be furniture, and furniture is made from lumber which comes from logs, NZ logs. Unfortunately, it’s pretty easy to see this is likely a result of tariff front loading rather than any change in real demand. In reality, the inverse is happening with a drop in furniture grade log prices (Pruned logs) in China as tariffs start driving negative sentiment amongst furniture manufacturers which is less than ideal. More >> Source & image credit: Forest360  Storm Éowyn’s €500m toll on Irish forestry revealed by satellite
Almost two and a half times the annual timber harvest in the
State was felled in Storm Éowyn, satellite imagery
reveals. Some 23,600 hectares (230.6sq km) of forestry has
been destroyed, according to Department of Agriculture preliminary
estimates, though the figure could be as high as 30,000 hectares.The department has used the European Space Agency’s Sentinal-2 satellite to monitor the damage. It estimates the windfallen trees amount to the equivalent of about 10 million cubic metres (10 million tonnes) of timber. For comparison, the annual timber harvest in the State is 4.3 million tonnes. The total value of last year’s forest harvest was €219 million, which indicates that the amount felled during Storm Éowyn could be worth more than €500 million. More >> Source: Irish Times Image credit: Ireland Department of Agriculture Wood stronger than steel in production
In 2018, Liangbing Hu, a materials scientist at the University
of Maryland, devised a way to turn ordinary wood into a material
stronger than steel. It seemed like yet another headline-grabbing discovery that wouldn’t make it out of the lab.“All these people came to him,” said Alex Lau, CEO of InventWood, “He’s like, OK, this is amazing, but I’m a university professor. I don’t know quite what to do about it.” Rather than give up, Hu spent the next few years refining the technology, reducing the time it took to make the material from more than a week to a few hours. Soon, it was ready to commercialise, and he licensed the technology to InventWood. Now, the startup’s first batches of Superwood will be produced starting this summer. “Right now, coming out of this first-of-a-kind commercial plant — so it’s a smaller plant — we’re focused on skin applications,” Lau said. “Eventually we want to get to the bones of the building. Ninety percent of the carbon impact from buildings is concrete and steel in the construction of the building.” More >> Source: TechCrunch Image credit: InventWood .jpg) Jobs
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and one to end the week on... do you have your pink shirt on today?
What did the banana say to the banana bully? When I was younger a bully used to take my money... I am a victim of cyber bullying ----------------------------------------- There are women whose thoughtful husbands buy them flowers for no reason. And then there's me. One day I couldn't stand it any longer. "Why don't you ever bring me flowers?" I asked. "What's the point?" my husband said. "They’ll be dead in about a week." "So could you," I shot back, "but I still like having you around." ----------------------------------------- Friday 16 May is Pink Shirt Day in both New Zealand and Australia. Speak Up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying Find out more: Pink Shirt Day NZ; Cotton On AU; Reach Out.  And on that note, enjoy your weekend. Cheers.  Brand PartnersOur Partners & Sponsors Friday Offcuts is made possible through the generous support of the following companies.
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